Wednesday, September 30, 2009

The end of my story

You may be wondering why I am starting my post with "The End". That's because the topic chosen for the week by Topical Blogger bvaliant4him is "The end of my story."

For many, talking about the end of their story equates to pondering when and how they might die. It's a common topic of discussion, really. No one knows for sure the hour of his or her final breath, but for many, there is a defining moment when life changed. You became a new person, so to speak, and you vowed never to return to what you used to be.

Although the event at "the end of my story" was over 20 years ago, I remember it very clearly. I won't go into detail, except that I felt much like the Eleanor in my previous post - insignificant and invisible. But what I will share is that the course my life was on could have had some very serious repercussions, had I continued in that dirction.

But my course changed. The end of my story ushered in a new beginning in my life.

Up until that time in my life, God was someone to be afraid of, because He made the decision whether or not to make good things happen in your life. Jesus was kind of like a cousin or uncle that I knew of and only vaguely remembered from a family gathering when I was very young. And the Holy Spirit was ... well, I'm not really sure what the Holy Spirit was.

But at that defining moment in my life, God became very real to me. Words were spoken from an audio cassette tape, by someone that I had never had the privilege of meeting. Those words changed my insignificance to value; my invisible-ness, dignity. I was told that I have something of worth to give, because I was worthy of receiving something where the giver expected nothing in return.

I realized at that moment that I had been given a new life. I wasn't sure what that meant, but I knew that it was from God. I wanted more of this new life. My story was over. This was the beginning of God's story for my life.